Madonna Exudes Humanlike Attributes in Photo Shoot

If you're like me and you need reams of evidence to prove that Madonna is in fact a woman and not a basilisk assuming the form of a woman, consider this sheaf of photography from the latest issue of W. Steven Klein manages to accomplish the nearly-impossible and make the diva appear humanlike. Using flourishes far more nuanced than soft-focus and lens flare, Klein exhumes sentience and sensitivity absent from the pop singer's emotional range since this single. Why, she even looks coy and vulnerable in some shots!

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More miraculous is how he succeeds in infusing her with some long-lost glamour— convincing us that, yes, Madonna could be a precocious schoolmarm, lounge singer, and socialista. And that guy propped up next to her? That’s Guy Ritchie’s A-Rod’s replacement, whose back Klein has courteously photographed to make identification easier (it’s Jesus Luz if you can’t bear the suspense). But ultimately, this photoshoot comes as a huge relief for those of us wondering if there would be anything salvageable for Her Madgesty’s image after her perilous travels through Timbaland. It even offers a kernel of hope that after Madonna’s done chasing the coat-tails of dying fads, she may gracefully step back up to the pop throne and become a trailblazer again. But until then, you may bow down to Rihanna.